KLEM News PM Update May 12, 2010

During a meeting Tuesday night, Floyd Valley Hospital Board chairperson Bill Rosacker publicly thanked Jim Ryan for his nearly 11 years of service as a trustee. Ryan's service included terms where he chaired the board. His work as a member of the hospital's finance committee was singled out by trustees as being especially valued.

Ryan is resigning because he and his wife are moving to Yankton.

Trustee Larry Petersen described the seven persons interested in serving as a "strong list of candidates."

Repeating a procedure used twice in the past, Rosacker asked trustees to rank the seven people who have shown an interest in finishing Ryan's term through December of next year and return the rankings to him. He'll tally the numbers and that person's name will be recommended to the city council for appointment on Tuesday.

The public could petition for an election to fill the vacancy.

(LE MARS)--An architect describes bids for two Le Mars Community School district projects as very competitive. H-W Design-Build of Sioux City had the low bid for the Middle School Auditorium and high school locker room remodeling project.

The low bid of 426-thousand 950 was about 50-thousand dollars less than the estimate from architect Jim Ruble of Sioux City. The five bids ranged from the low to a high of 463-thousand 900 dollars. Even the highest bid was lower than the 477-thousand dollar estimate. Ruble recommended the low bid from a firm that had done work for the district at Clark and Franklin Elementary and agreed with board members that the price spread was very tight.

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Guarantee Roofing Siding and Insulation of Sioux City was the low bidder for the bus building roof replacement. There were eight bids for the work ranging from the low to 78-thousand 318 dollars. The low bid was about 30-thousand dollars less than the architect's estimate of 75-thousand dollars.

The bids were awarded by the Board of Education this week.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) The South Dakota Health Department is telling doctors and others to be watching for signs of mumps after a few cases were found just across the state border in northwest Iowa.

Some of those infected attended Dordt College. Lon Kightlinger in the South Dakota Health Department says it's possible that South Dakota students attending Dordt could spread the disease when they return home for summer.

The state of South Dakota went 15 years without a case of mumps until an outbreak four years ago infected nearly 300 people. The state responded with an immunization effort to vaccinate more than 14,000 people.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a Sioux City man who claimed he killed his stepdaughters as part of a satanic ritual that went awry.

The court on Wednesday rejected Lawrence Harris Sr.'s claims that the evidence did not support his conviction because he was insane or suffered from diminished capacity at the time of the January 2008 slayings at the family's home in Sioux City.

The appeals court rejected Harris' arguments.

A jury found Harris guilty in January 2009 of two-counts of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison.

A telephone message left for Harris' attorney was not immediately returned. Attorney general spokesman Bob Brammer says the case was tried on the facts and wouldn't change the law.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Department of Transportation has proposed a plan to spend $2.3 billion on hundreds of highway projects statewide over the next five years.

More than $1.2 billion would be spent on safety, maintenance and preservation work. The rest would be targeted for projects aimed at increasing the traffic capacity of the state's highway system and on corridors aimed at spurring economic development.

The Iowa Transportation Commission is scheduled to give final approval at its June 8 meeting in Fort Madison.

The plan continues widening U.S. Highway 20 to four lanes in western Iowa.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(SPIRIT LAKE)--The Iowa D-N-R is considering changes to a couple of boating laws that would only impact boaters in Dickinson County which is home to the Iowa Great Lakes region. Rich Jordet (JOR-det) is with the D-N-R Law Enforcement Bureau in northwest Iowa says one of the changes would help address safety concerns and reduce soil erosion around the shore. If approved, zones would be established where boaters would be restricted to speeds of less than 5 miles per hour. Currently, the areas are marked as "no wake" zones.

"In order to get consistency for both the public and law enforcement, we went 5 miles per hour instead of the no wake," Jordet explained. "No wake is a hard thing to describe." Another change would alter a state law that limits boat speeds within 300 feet of shore.

Jordet says the speeds would be restricted to 5 miles per hour - down from 10 miles per hour. The proposed changes will be the topic of a public meeting at 7 p.m., May 25, at Gull Point State Park Lodge, on the west shores of West Okoboji Lake. (News report by Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa is considering banning booze at some beaches at state parks in the Okoboji area over the Fourth of July holiday.

The problem is years of beer-fueled fights, underage drinking and nudity.

The lakes are one of Iowa's top vacation spots, especially for college students. The ban would apply to Gull Point, Emerson Bay, Pikes Point and Triboji beaches on West Okoboji Lake and to Crandall and Orleans beaches on Big Spirit Lake.

Beer and wine would be allowed at campgrounds, lodges, shelters and picnic areas away from the beaches. Alcohol would be allowed at beaches at the state parks at other times.

The Iowa Natural Resource Commission will consider the ban on Thursday. A legislative rules panel also would have to approve it.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for south central and southeast Iowa for Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. Forecasters say storms could dump 1- to 2-inches of rain with locally higher amounts possible.

Scattered thunderstorms were beginning to cross into western Iowa Wednesday morning and were expected to spread across the state later in the day. Some of the storms may be severe.

The body of 45-year-old Joseph Storto, of Ottumwa, was found March 13 under the bridge near an intersection. There were no signs of foul play.

Authorities on Tuesday said the investigation and autopsy led them to conclude Storto's death was a suicide.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Cedar Rapids fire officials say smoke alarms helped save an 84-year-old woman and two children from a house fire.

Fire department spokesman Greg Buelow says Alvernia Franklin was watching the girls, ages 5 and 10 months, when the alarms went off. She smelled smoke coming from the second floor.

Franklin and the children escaped unharmed.

Buelow says the fire started in a walk-in closet in a hallway. The cause is under investigation.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, adults over 65 and children under five are twice as likely to die in a house fire.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Residents of Cedar Rapids and neighboring Palo may soon be raising chickens in their backyard.

In Cedar Rapids, chicken supporters been pecking away at the City Council for six months.

At Tuesday night's council meeting, Mayor Ron Corbett reported he has a majority of council members supporting a one-year trial. Corbett says the council will probably take up the matter next week.

Meanwhile, the Palo City Council could approve a backyard chicken ordinance by the end of the month. The council is poised to pass the third and final reading May 24 to allow residents in the town of 900 to have up to four chickens, but no roosters.